Cyber bullying

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The use of social networking is rife among schoolchildren: almost half of eight to 17-year-olds now have an online profile, according to a survey conducted by OFCOM last year. But these social networking sites, like facebook, MySpace, or Bebo, have become platforms for cyber bullying. The relative annonymity of the Internet gives a lot of scope for such bullying; recently 15-year-old Megan Gillan had committed suicide by taking a fatal overdose of painkillers after being the victim of cyber bullies who tormented her via the website Bebo:



Daily Mail

The Archbishop of Westminster expressed concern that an over-reliance on cyber friendships was impeding children's ability to develop ways of interacting in the real world. It is surely no coincidence that, despite the ready availability of tens of thousands of cyber-friends, among young people loneliness remains a major problem. The charity ChildLine counsels 5,500 children for loneliness every year.